Princes and Prices
by Lyrical Rex
Summary: Amane's brother is taken captive in her stead. A group of adventerers coughmeaning her and a few men who admire her little brother in a notsoplatonic waycough set out to save him. Main pair: RxB AU S ai
1. Introduction to our little world

Title: Princes and Prices

Author: Lil Riter.

Summary: Princess Awane's "perfect" life (including a little princebrother and handsome prince fiance) is turned upside down by a curse that could bring together the two said boys in her life.Actually, she doesn't mind that. BakuraRyou, slight MalikRyou.And later, slight YamiRyou. And throw a little bit of SetoRyou in there too. Heck,Ryou kisses a ton of guys. I can't even name them all right now. -.-; (Ryou's such a slut! hahah... J/K!)AU

HEYO! I like this AU. It came so easily. Annnyway, just asking that if you read, please leave a review regardless of whether or not you liked it. It'd be nice to know what you think.

* * *

Ryou watched in fascination as the tears slid down his face to break against the alabaster floor. How could he have been so naive? How could he have not known that heartbreak would follow by the lead of his feelings! 

How could he have fallen in love like this?

It was only a glimpse of the prince that had captured him so. His sister was the one to marry. His sister was the crown princess. His sister would be Bakura's future queen.

Tears fell and fell and fell. Things never went the way he wanted.

A hand made itself known to Ryou's shoulder. "Don't cry, young prince," an elegant voice said, using a soft handkerchief to wipe away the boy's tears.

"I can't stop, Ryouchi! I can't!" Ryou buried his white-haired head into his slave's shoulder. "Ryouchi! Oh, Ryouchi! I think I've fallen in love!"

A sooth, comforting hand caressed the boy's back. "Shh, my prince. It'll be alright."

"No it won't!" the prince wailed. "It will never be alright! He's all Amane's! All… Amane's."

Ryouchi's lavender eyes widened. "Ryou, prince, you're…"

"Gay?" Ryou muttered bitterly. "Homosexual? Of course I am, Ryouchi. Haven't you noticed the signs?" He looked up, eyes frightened. "But you won't tell anyone, would you? It's against my father's laws for homosexuality. Amane knows, though. She promises that when she becomes Queen, she will change theLaw for me." Bitter tears continued falling. "That's why I don't want to ruin anything for her."

Ryouchi didn't know what to say. Forever he had been hiding his feelings for his young master, knowing they'd never be returned. But now, after this awkward revelation, his whole world was made upside down.

"Ryouchi?" a soft voice asked, doe-like eyes peering up into lavender ones. "I don't know how you feel about all this. But… Ryouchi, before I fell in love with Bakura, I was in love with you. Would you mind if I kissed you?"

Ryouchi trembled as they closed their eyes and their lips met in a tentative kiss. Ryou shifted in Ryouchi's lap, wrapping his arms hesitantly around his slave's neck as he peered up into the older boy's eyes. "I'm sorry for the trouble," Ryou whispered softly.

"What trouble?" the ash blond replied, capturing Ryou's lips once more.

* * *

"Amane, I have to tell you something," Bakura told his fiancée. 

The two royalties sat out in the pavilion, at the most romantic and secluded spot there was so they could talk in peace. They were getting married, so they had to put up an act to please their parents. It was at least nice that they were best friends at least. Bakura sat by the pond throwing rocks and the fish and Amane was stretched out on a bench looking up at the sky.

"Hm?" Amane replied.

"I've fallen in love with someone." Bakura sighed, shaking his white hair out of his face.

"Well, don't tell me. I want to guess, Ba-chan."

Bakura made a face. "Ba? You make me sound like an old woman!" He threw a pebble at his friend.

Amane didn't laugh though. "You know, Ba-ba," she said, ignoring Bakura's protests of being called a grandmother, "I've been thinking. All the adults have been disillusioned to think that we've fallen in love."

"Well at least it's not like the joining of Sacrabode. Those two absolutely hate each other."

Amane snorted in agreement. "It's so obvious that Seto doesn't have any interest in girls, and he and Mai are fighting over that blonde at Seto's court anyway—Jou, wasn't it?"

Bakura quirked an eyebrow. "I haven't heard that yet. Who told you?"

"Ladies at court." Amane sat up and shook her head, focusing on what she was going to say. Her lavender hair was long, reaching her waist even in a braid, while her ample bangs barely brushed her eyebrows above doe-brown eyes. "Anyway, there were a few things I wanted to talk about." She straightened her full skirts for a bit.

Bakura could tell she was nervous. Amane never worried about her clothing; she'd chosen to wear an amethyst dress—not the best dress for one with lavender hair and pale skin, mind you. She was only stalling.

"First of all, our marriage is approaching. When we turn seventeen, we'll be marrying, right?" Bakura nodded in response. "But I don't want you, and I know you sure as hell don't want me, and I want to know if joining Vì and Na is more important to you than chasing after the one you love."

Bakura looked sad for a second. "It's not, but I won't be able to have him anyways. He lives in a country where gay couples are not allowed."

Amane stared at her fiancée for a second. "Gay? I'm having De ja vu here." Bakura seemed about to reply to this, but Amane hurriedly continued, "Anyway, I was going to ask if homosexual relationships were allowed in Vì, then I realized that it would be a foolish question. My parents wouldn't want to join our countries if yours were pro-gay marriage. And onto something else…" Amane took a deep breath. "Isis told me that I'm cursed."

Bakura gave her a questioning look. "Who's Isis?"

"Awane."

"Oh. You know your slave's birth name?"

"She's my friend," Amane snapped. She was always touchy when it came to slaves; Bakura didn't feel like they deserved feelings. That she hated him for it.

"Your curse?" Bakura prompted.

Amane was silent for a moment. "I was the first born in this family. My father had… My father had angered a fairy. Not just any fairy. He angered Yami."

Bakura's eyes widened. "Yami? Fairy Atemu? Destroyer of Nations?"

Amane nodded gravely. "It seems he had angered the fairy so much that he placed a curse on the first born of my father's line. Something fatal will happen to me the day I turn seventeen. That is… unless someone sacrifices themselves for me." Amane swallowed. "She also told me something else…" Amane's eyes held a distant look as she continued her narration. "Isis, that is to say, Awane, isn't human." Amane gave Bakura a sidelong look. "She's a fairy."

"Oh." Suddenly, Awane felt Bakura's feelings for Awane change from contempt to slight respect/fear. "That changes things."

Amane snorted. "You just fear what the white fairy will do to you, don't you?" she accused. "Never mind that. Well, Isis was seven when I was born. She was stigmatized with my name, and then christened Awane after me. At my first birthday, there was a royal affair, not to mention the Queen was pregnant with a second child…"

(TO BE CONTINUED!)

Notes: I love this story. I've wanted to do a sleeping beauty thing for forever. Now I've finally gone and done it! I happen to think I'm very original, though. Anyone ever read Robin McKinley's Spindle's End? Some of this story is based off of that. Read: some. I was originally going to work on some other story of mine the day I started writing this (Saturday May 14, 2005) but my internet crashed, and I couldn't see where I'd gotten to so far. Actually, I was spending my time reading other fanfictions. Somehow, Harem kind of influenced my story. It's kind of odd. I think the slaves come from that.

In any case, here are some notes on the story:

Ryouchi: Originally, Ryuuji Otogi was going to be Ryouchi. I read somewhere that his name can be translated to Ryouchi. It was a hard choice to change the character. I felt Ryuuji was perfect for the part, but… I had to change it. It seems more fitting this way. (And I'm not going to spoil the person for those of you who DON'T know who Ryouchi is.)

Ba: Ba means old woman in all the eastern languages I know, which amounts to two: Vietnamese and Japanese. (Naruto calls Tsunade-baba—Grandma Tsunade.)

Honorifics: Other than Ba, honorifics are the only other language words I'm planning to use. Unless, of course, I end up making up (or stealing) a separate language for the fairies.

Stigmatized: Yeah, I know, the first thing that comes to mind are those people who miraculously have Christ's marks. Actually, according to the dictionary, "stigmatized" means "branded." I think the word stigmatized is cool, so I'm using it, kay's?

Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Press the little button down there next to the "submit review!" or email me at lamtruclam at sbcglobal dot com. (PLEASE! IF YOU READ, REVIEW! It's only curteousy!

Next chapter: When the king of Na angered the darkest of fairies, he never really thought of the consequences. Awane's birth and birth day, and the renaming of Isis to Awane.


	2. Amane's birthday

Title: Princes and Prices

Author: Lil Riter.

Summary: Amane, Crown Princess, is getting married. Problem is, she's cursed, and when her brother takes her place, everything goes to shambles. Setting out on a mission, she, along with a handful of men who like her brother in a not-so-platonic way, go search for him. The Fairy Realm is a scary place, actually.

Yay! It's my second chapter! Did I mention that I like this story? I had to edit this chapter a few times over, and I made a mistake last chapter and put "eighteen" instead of "seventeen." (sweat drop) Isis told Amane that something fatal would happen to her at seventeen. Yup!

I've decided that I'm using Vietnamese for the fairy language. Yes, I am Viet. Explains it, right? If you must know, my usuage of a language for Fairy language is derived from Ryuujistu's use of Chinese for Angel in _Faust_. That story's good! If you haven't read it, you should check it out!

Reviews!

**Duo Yuy-Chang** and **Black Wolf**: Updated! Thanks for reviewing!

**CGflower: **! You reviewed! Wow! A lot of information you say? You don't have to read those "end notes" if you don't want. There all (mostly) useless crap I felt like letting people know (not like they'd care anyway.) A lot of those for me is ten. Honest. I even deleted some of those end notes before I posted the story. I don't even need them there. I'm like Ego Chan, stick in a few that you want people to know about. So they can know random information. And such. So don't read them if you don't want. All important stuff goes up here. n.n! And I'm a short chapter person. It takes me much longer to figure out how to write a long chapter than just splitting it.

**Misura!** You are so psychic. You were 100 percent right about the Seto and Jou and Mai part. That WILL come in… but not now. n.n! You'll have to wait a couple chapters.

Hee hee... all these italics mean things that happened in the past. n.n

* * *

_Bright lights lit up the city's Common Ground beautifully at night. Glowing lights of all colors and shades danced through the semi translucent wings of the dwarf fairies flittering fifty feet in the air. The normal sized fairies stood out in the crowd, taller than humans, though there were fewer of them. The nobility sat on the dais, all god-parents to the crown princess. Duchesses and female monarchs of other countries and other female nobles cooed over the little baby. "She's so cute!" one would exclaim. "She's got the prettiest eyes!" another would say. Those who weren't there were gushing to the queen were congratulating her on a second child in her womb._

_The slaves and servants mingled in another area of the Common Ground. They were wrapped in colorful sarongs, and one especially stood out._

_The young girl looked older than her age, dressed in a layered laced gown in white. She was tanned, with long black hair and kohl-lined green eyes. No one would know she was a slave if she hadn't had the black satin collar around her neck, under which everyone knew was stigmatized the name "Amane." Her slightly pointed ears were the only things that gave away that she wasn't human, seeing as her wings were torn off when she was born into slavery. All that was left of her wings were two scars stretching from her shoulder blades to the small of her back. It was found that if you couldn't remove the root of the wings immediately after birth, the wings would still grow._

_Like in her brother's case. Malik's wings were never fully torn off. He still had a bit of wing coming out from under his right shoulder blade, but it never fully developed. "Chị Isis,I have a bad feeling about today." (_1_) The fairy race was also prized as slaves because they grew into adolescents faster than they aged into adults, remaining "teenaged" for over twenty years. Malik was four human years old yet looked and acted seven. Isis herself had taken on many hardships, making her seem older and wiser than she ever should. _

"_I do too, Malik."

* * *

_

"_And I christen thee, Isis Ishtar, as Awane, Keeper of our Princess." The priest made the sign of the gods over the fairy-girl. "Stand up, Keeper, and state me your name," the priest incited. This was the last step of the rite. _

_Somebody screamed as a string of lanterns broke, and the row of colorful lights swung down dangerously towards the crowd. Many fairies and mages were quick thinking enough to stop the decent of the lanterns further, stopping them with magic._

_Thunder cackled, and from a whirlwind of shadows came an elegantly dressed man clad in red, violet, and black, wearing a white glove on his left hand and a bare right hand. He had tri-colored hair set in wild spikes—blond bangs, black hair and violet highlights. His eyes gleamed red. "Oh, am I interrupting something? I'm terribly sorry," the fairy said sarcastically, pitch black wings twitching angrily. "I just wanted to get something. What was it again? Oh yes, the daughter that was promised to me a _year _ago." The fairy flew up to the dais, walking over to the crib._

"_You can't have her!" the queen screeched. "Amano, say he can't!"_

_The king was obviously scared out of his wits. He did what his wife begged anyway. "Yami! I beg you, do not take Amane from us!"_

"_You begged the same a year ago, and accepted my generous offer of three hundred and sixty-five extra days with her. What more could you ask?" Yami reached the cradle, about the reach into it. Suddenly, he was slapped. His cheek burned abnormally. The man touched it in a slight shock. It hurt more than it should._

"_Leave my charge alone!" Isis yelled._

_Yami laughed, deep throated. "Your charge? My dear child, you are only… well, a child!" He reached again for the princess, until she was snatched up by her life-slave._

"_You can't have her!" Isis pronounced._

_Yami growled. "Listen, you little brat. Amano here owes me. Do you understand that? He owes me his little girl. Now hand her over." Isis clutched the bundle tighter to her body. Yami lunged at her._

_No human could see what happened, but the next thing they knew was that Yami drew back from the slave girl, yelping in pain. He looked at his marred palm. Glaring at the monarchs, he spat angrily, "I see you've got a nice tiên__-slave now, eh? A white one. And not some pitiful candle-light either," he said, looking over the girl appreciatively, using the fairy word for 'fairy.'__ "Powerful enough to burn me with just her skin. Now _that _is power." Yami got even closer to the slave-girl, taking his gloved left hand to caress her cheek. "Girl," he whispered. "Why are you a slave to them?" Isis stood stock-still, unable to say anything. "If you come with me," he added huskily in Fairy, "I'll give you _wings_" (2)  
_

_Isis didn't know what to say. His promise was one she'd dreamed of since a child, but... "I… I don't know."_

"_Tell me," Yami breathed, hand trailing to the back of Isis' neck. "What is your name, em sáng?"(_3,4)

_Isis was afraid to answer. She didn't know _what_ to answer. There was quiet and still for a moment; the crowd of humans had gone silent, the dwarf fairies had fled the moment thunder had cackled, and the other fairies were much too afraid of the Fairy of Darkness to try to do anything. Bothered by the silence surrounding her, Amane stirred in her blankets._

_The baby started crying as soon as she woke up._

_Isis stared in shock for a second at the bundle in her arms. In that second she felt something inside her connect to something inside that baby. They were bound, but the rite wasn't finished yet._

"_My name," Isis stated calmly, coolly looking up at the elder, "Is Awane. I bind my life to the dear princess, to live and serve and protect her as long as she or I may live." Awane looked down at her charge. "I bind myself to thee, and with this ribbon, I protect thee from all harm I can." Isis cradled the baby in her right arm while untying the satin ribbon around her neck with the left. She gave it to the princess, who quieted down, playing with her newest acquisition._

_Yami growled. "That was sweet, Em Isis, but if you please, I would like to take _my_ princess now." The dark fairy laid his free hand on the princess, and jumped back yelping again. His palm was now steaming, marred flesh. "What is this… ?"_

"_I told you, I've bound myself to the princess, and I will protect her with all I have."_

_Yami snarled, backing off. "You can't keep her safe forever. I swear by my power over darkness, that I _will_ come back to get her! Amane is mine, you hear me? Amano," Yami said, more calmly as he glided over to the king. "I will let you keep her for now. But I've already marked her as mine, and it will become more apparent as time goes on."_

_Amano shook in his place. His queen was just as scared, eyes widened in fright and both hands placed protectively on her womb. "Akita," Yami purred, running a gloved hand over the queen's terrified face. She let out a sob. "The child you carry will love Amane more than his own life. If he wishes to go in her place, let him."_

_The dark fairy raised himself into the air as thunder and lightning clapped again. "King Amano!" his voice boomed loudly for the entire Common to hear. "She has been marked! Unless someone is willing to take her place, she will not be here by the end of her seventeenth birthday." Yami grinned toothily and waved open a portal to the fairy realm. "I can wait until then, Your Majesty." With that, he was gone._

_In the aftermath of the visit from the darkness, there were still terrified people milling around in a daze. The princess was taken inside the palace, held in Awane's arms. The royalties followed. "Amano, what did you do?" everyone asked. "Why does Fairy Atemu want your child so much?"_

"_Chị," Malik whispered to his sister, "Isn't there something you can do?"_

_Awane closed her eyes. "I've done all I could. I've poured all the magic I can into her. She'll be fine. I don't think anything fatal will happen to her."_

Isis didn't want to take chances, and told Amane otherwise. (5)

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Notes (Hey! They're organized!):

1. Chị - "Older Sister" in Vietnamese.

2. This sentence in "Fairy" (aka Vietnamese) is "Anh cho em cánh." Random bit there.

3. Em – generally speaking, a younger person than the addresser. Unless of course, one is referring to oneself to an older person. Such as I would call Straws or CGflower "Em," but call myself "Em" to Bourei or Misura. I'd call the older girls Chị.

4. sáng – bright or light. Then em sáng means, in essentiality, "Bright One." I didn't want Yami to speak all in Common, for some odd reason. Sigh.

5. Yeah, once again, those are all the real events, not the events told by Amane to Bakura. Nope. You heard what Amane told Bakura. Right? Anyway, I'd also like to slip in that in.

Alright, so that chapter right there sucked ass, but hey. What can I do about it? If I try rewriting it again, I'll go nuts. Review!


End file.
